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Billingsgate Island Light

US Coast Guard photo
Location	Well fleet, Massachusetts
Coordinates	41°52′18″N 70°4′8.35″W
Tower
Constructed	1822
Foundation	Granite
Construction	Brick
Height	41 feet
Shape	Square
Markings	Red with black lantern
Fog signal	none
Light
First lit	1858
Deactivated	1915
Focal height	41 feet (12 m)
Lens	Fourth order Fresnel lens
Range	12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi)
Characteristic	F W

Billingsgate Island Light history

The Billingsgate Island Light was a famous historic landmark located on what was once an inhabited island in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. When the island was habitable, the Billingsgate Island light was an important landmark to all fisherman and seaman. The light was constructed in 1822, but its light was not lit until 1858 due to construction. The Billingsgate Island Lights stands tall at 41 feet. Since modern building technology was not yet integrated in architecture, the Island light has a base foundation of granite and wall construction made of brick and mortar. Since electricity was not invented until 1879, by Thomas Edison, the Billingsgate Island lights primary source of power was kerosene fuel. The preferred lens used by the Island light was called a Fresnel lens. At the time in history, Fresnel lenses were the most advanced in lighthouse lens technology. Fresnel lenses used a series of prisms and patterns within the glass itself which acted like a diamond. Fresnel lenses weighed roughly five to eight tons based on their size. The Fresnel lens was capable of reaching visible distances of 12-26 nautical miles.]

Billingsgate town history

Billingsgate Island was a large fishing village located in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Billingsgate became its own town with its own baseball team, a school and more than thirty homes. Before the construction of the Billingsgate Island light, there was another lighthouse, but was also destroyed in a storm. In the storm that destroyed the light in 1915, all residence fled Billingsgate before the storm came, floating all of their homes and personal belongings across the bay. The only two people left on the island as the storm past was the lighthouse keeper and the shellfish keeper who ended up dying in the flood. What is left of Billingsgate Island is only visible at low tide. Most of what is left on Billingsgate Island was either later torn down in the 1930’s and 1940’s or destroyed by coastal erosion. Billingsgate Island was most commonly referred to as Mini-Atlantis. It was commonly known as Mini-Atlantis because it was once a community where people lived but is now underwater. The Billingsgate fishing community was known for fishing and capturing Sea Bass, Tuna and whale fishing. In most current times, Billingsgate is only accessible by boat and at low tide. Today, it is used as a picnic area and shell-fishing.

Billingsgate island land purchase

Billingsgate Island was originally a public use of land shared by Native Americans and commercial fishermen. On July 2, 1822, the U.S. government purchased four acres of the original 60 acres of land on the island including the Billingsgate Island light for only $100. The United States government decided to construct a thirty-nine foot wall barrier between the ocean and the coastline of Billingsgate in-order to try to preserve and protect the Island light from storms. Quickly after the first wall was built, the ground beneath eroded and split Billingsgate Island in half. After the Island split in half, the government decided to build another wall, this time towering 100 feet tall. Instead of being of benefit to the lighthouse and the community of Billingsgate, it did the opposite. It increased the erosion process of the island.

Billingsgate Island Light Construction

The Billingsgate Island light was in operation from 1858 to 1915, when it was destroyed in a storm in 1915. The Billingsgate storm of 1915 was strong enough to not only destroy the lighthouse but also completely wiped the town of Billingsgate off the face of the earth. The only thing left of the Billingsgate Island is the granite foundation of the Island Light. The tower shape was square, which was quite unusually for lighthouse architecture. Most lighthouses that were constructed at the time were circular. Lighthouse shapes were primarily circular because they were stronger. Other than the lighthouse being destroyed by a storm in 1915, the lighthouses architecture was one of the main reasons for its failure to stand. The Billingsgate lighthouse when first constructed, had only one Fresnel lens, but then was later replaced with eight oil lamps (Fresnel), newer and stronger which were capable of reaching longer distances. The roof of the lighthouse was painted a bright red and black swirl so that it was most visible at longer distances.

Lighthouse Keepers

Lighthouse keepers live inside of lighthouses anywhere from a week to a few years at a time. In older times, they had to stay awake for hours at a time to rewind the lighthouses turning mechanism for the light and be able to relay communication to ships that land is near. They also help ship pilots navigate the waterways thru Morse code and later, proper radio communication. To be a Lighthouse-keepers you must be a middle aged man who has a high school education, clean and orderly, has a family and the ability to communicate with formal ship communication techniques. No matter the weather conditions, lighthouse keepers were held to a will to keep the light of the lens light everyday of the year, no matter the conditions. In the case of the Keeper of Billingsgate Island light, he stood watch till the death and complete deactivation of the lighthouse in 1915.

This article has some very interesting information and catches my attention. There are some simple grammar and spelling mistakes that can be corrected easily. A couple sentences are your opinion which is no good for Wikipedia but thats an easy fix. I think you can combine the lighthouse history and the lighthouse construction because you mention both in each section. The biggest problem i found was that there were no sources to support all this great information. Once you get your sources put in there you article will look much better. It shouldn't be too hard to get some sources for this subject. Someone who could be funding this might be a museum or some type of historical site or company.